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Letter to the editor

Expanding libraries is right, even in a crunch

With so many local government officials talking about public services they likely will have to cut this year, it is a nice change of pace to consider a couple of Pinellas cities that have just added, or plan to add, an amenity that serves all ages: new library space.

Good people can disagree about whether a library is a necessity, especially when the stream of revenue to support local governments is thinning because of recession, declining property values and statewide budget cuts.

Yet walk into most any library in Pinellas County after school or on the weekend and you are likely to find it buzzing with people who have reasons to be there. Overcrowding, along with aging facilities and the opportunity to modernize services, have provided the incentives for two cities to move ahead with library construction.

Just last month, Oldsmar opened its new $5-million library at 400 St. Petersburg Drive E, near downtown. The dangerously declining condition of the old library, on State Street in one of the oldest buildings in town, forced city officials to begin planning a new structure. But they didn't want anything too grand. They wanted a library that was just right for a small town with deep roots in the past, but with evidence of growth everywhere.

The St. Petersburg architectural firm of Harvard Jolly seems to have hit that goal perfectly. At just under 20,000 square feet, it has room for growth and has the open feel and wide views lacking in the old, cramped library. But it doesn't waste space.

The library design marries old style with modern touches, from the parking lot, where magnolias are planted, to every corner inside. Visitors enter the Mediterranean revival building through an entry hall with a barrel-vaulted ceiling and an inlay of a 1901 Oldsmobile on the floor. The early 20th century is recalled with ceiling fans, massive oak beams, a dark wood circulation desk, interior street lights, wooden benches and tall windows. But in a nod to the future, there are computers throughout the building and reserved space for a coffee shop or cafe.

The library has a comfortable main reading room, a garden room, conference rooms and a children's area. There is an octagonal teen room, called the REO Lounge (for Ransom E. Olds, founder of Oldsmar and the Oldsmobile) and featuring sofas that look like they were pulled out of a classic car. They even have taillight details on the arms.

Though the library has been open several weeks and has been busy, residents still wander in daily for their first look around. The new library impresses first-time visitors who were accustomed to the dingy, closeted feel of the old library. City officials should be proud of the result, which will serve Oldsmar well for many years.

Safety Harbor is the other North Pinellas community moving ahead with plans for new library space. The city built a new library in 1994, but the building is so overcrowded at peak hours that city commissioners voted recently to expand the 15,000-square-foot facility to about 24,000 square feet. The expansion is expected to cost $4-million - no small sum in these budget-trimming times.

The library will remain open while the building is expanded to include two new wings on the north and south and a new rotunda. When the project is completed in about 14 months, the library will have a teen room, a story hour room, meeting rooms, small study rooms and a larger bookstore, plus more comfortable areas for people to sit and read.

Far from becoming relics, public libraries have turned into busy centers for community activity and are more popular than ever, which officials in Oldsmar and Safety Harbor recognized. Just as always, people go to local libraries to check out books or do research, but they also go there for business meetings, to attend special classes or programs, to surf the Internet or send e-mail, to study with classmates, to listen to music or have a cup of coffee.

While some Tampa Bay area local governments, their dollars stretched, are talking about reducing library hours or closing the facilities on some days, Safety Harbor and Oldsmar have found a way to improve on what they clearly consider a necessary public service.

[Last modified February 11, 2008, 20:42:17]